DGI Finding North

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Finding North
	Ant Hill Method Southern exposure = sunny exposure and ants must like to sunbathe. Therefore, most anthills will be found on the south side of trees or other flora. The exception being those anthills located in rainforests or other regions where virtually no sun reaches the forest floor.
	Tree Canopy Method Again, because southern exposure is sunny exposure you will find the branches of most trees will be thicker and denser on the sunny, southern side and thinner and fewer on the northern side. To best determine the growth pattern of a tree, stand at the base and look up.
	Moss Method Moss grows in places with lots of shade and water (areas that are cool and moist). Because the southern side of tree gets more sun than the north, it is the northern side where you will usually find the moss. However, in dense forests, both sides of a tree can be shady and moist. So, moss may grow around the entire trunk.
	Cloud Method Look at the clouds to determine in which direction they are moving. The earths rotation causes most clouds to move from west to east in the northern hemisphere. While this may not always be true in mountainous regions or the mid- to southern hemisphere, it is a good rule of thumb and may help orient you.
	Needle Method You can make your own compass by magnetizing a needle, unfolded paperclip, or any other ferrous thin wire. Using a silk scarf or a magnet* stroke the needle in one direction from its eye to its point about 24. Suspend the needle in the mid-point on some string and it will point north. You can also float the needle on very still water. Use a thin leaf, blade of grass, or paper to stabilize the needle if the water isn't very still. *We at Delta Gear only include this method because it works however, we feel that ANY one who would bother to pack a silk scarf instead of a compass is a complete idiot in the first place and probably deserves to be lost. Sir Anthony Hopkins used this method in the movie The Edge but remember he has been formally knighted by the Queen of England, unlike our target reader, and probably never leaves home without a silk scarf.
	Celestial Navigation The North Star (or Polaris) is aptly named because the axis of the Earths rotation points to the north celestial pole (NCP) and Polaris is less than a degree away from the NCP. Therefore, if you can locate Polaris in the night sky you know which direction is north. Polaris is visible year round from almost any location north of the equator. It is one of the stars in a constellation most popularly known as the Little Dipper (Ursa Minor). The handle of the dipper is comprised of three stars, Polaris being the brightest - and situated at the end of the handle. For those travelers visiting the southern hemisphere, your celestial guide may be the Southern Cross, a crucifix-shaped constellation that points to the celestial south pole (CSP). More precisely, the long end of the cross points towards Sigma Octanis, a 5.5 magnitude star located about one degree from the CSP. Once you have found the Southern Cross youll know which direction is south. The problem is that there are three crosses in the southern sky and it would probably take a true astronomy nerd to differentiate between them so our best advice would be just to make sure you have a compass when traveling south of the equator.
	Moon Method If the crescent moon rises before the sun goes down (a first-quarter moon), its illuminated side will face west. If it rises after midnight (a last quarter moon), the bright side will face east. Using the North Star is easier and more reliable, but try this lunar method if stars are obscured.
	Watch Method In the northern hemisphere, hold the watch flat and point the hour hand towards the sun. Now bisect the angle between the hour hand and 12 o'clock on your watch to give you a North-South line. In the southern hemisphere, hold the watch dial and point 12 o'clock towards the sun. The line that bisects the angle between the hour hand and the figure 12 is the North-South line. If the watch is set to daylight-savings time (all during the summer) use the midway point between the hour hand and 1 o'clock. Imagine a line from that point through the center of the watch. If you have a digital watch, draw a watch on a piece of paper and use the method described above.
	Stick Method Method A: To make this compass, all you need is a 2-3 feet long stick and some sun. Next, find a flat piece of ground and hold the stick upright in the center of the ground. Mark the tip of the sticks shadow with another stick or a stone (point A in our diagram), wait 30 minutes and then repeat the process (point B in our diagram). Draw a line between the two points (A & B in our diagram).... this line will run from West to East, with the first point being West. Method B: This method is more time-consuming but will be more accurate. Mark your first shadow tip as in method A in the morning. Now draw an arc at the distance from the stick to the shadow tip, using the stick as the center point. In the afternoon, mark the exact spot where the shadow touches the arc. Now join the two points and this will give you a West to East line with the morning point being West.
	North on the Run The magnetic North Pole moves 6 to 25 miles per year. To compensate for the 500 mile gap that separates the two poles, hikers need to calculate the declination angle between true north on a map and magnetic north on a compass. As the magnetic pole continues to move, local declination shifts as well. To make sure your map's declination is current, punch in your destination's zip code or lat/long coordinates on NOAA's declination calculator.
	Map Procurement The best way to find North? Use a map. The general public can order unclassified maps online from United States Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS also provides a National Map Viewer if your interested in the topography of the United States. The National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) which is now known as the National Geospacial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) produces unclassified maps that are available for civilians. If your organization is associated with the Department of Defense (DOD) and you order maps from the NGA, use your ULLS S-4 Department of Defense Activity Address Code (DODAAC). If you don't have one, use your unit's PBO DODAAC. You are not authorized a separate DODAAC for maps. If you have a DODAAC, you can also get maps from the Richmond Map Facility (RMF), which is part of the Defense Supply Center, Richmond (DSCR) map facility. Getting maps from RMF is a hassle and will take several weeks to setup an account and even longer to setup an online account.
	Lat/Lon Vs. UTM/MGRS There are many coordinate systems, but the two most popular in the United States are latitude/longitude (lat/lon) and the Universal Transverse Mercator / Military Grid Reference System (UTM / MGRS). Most GPS receivers come out of the box set for lat/lon coordinates, although other coordinate systems might better suit your needs. Many land based users will find UTM / MGRS to be easy to use and well suited to their needs. Here are some UTM advantages: Square grids East-West units of measure are the same as North-South units Decimal based, no fussing with minutes and seconds. Coordinates translate directly to distances on the ground. Coordinate precision is easily understood. No need to wonder what distance a tenth of a second of longitude represents. It's easy to abbreviate coordinates when working in a small area. There are some circumstances where lat/lon is a better choice. Most aviation and maritime users use latitude and longitude coordinates. You will probably want to use lat/lon coordinates if you are working with maps that cover more than 6 degrees of longitude or are 1:1,000,000 scale or less. Small scale maps are often projected using a map projection that will result in UTM grids that are not square. Small scale UTM grided maps need to use a projection where lines of longitude appear to be parallel, such as a Mercator projection. On larger scale maps the choice of coordinate system is often determined by the coordinate references that have been supplied by the map maker. USGS puts both lat/lon and UTM coordinates on all of their large scale maps. Many other map makers only provide lat/lon references. It is possible to add a UTM grid to a map that is only marked with lat/lon references. But it is a tedious process, so you might be better off just using lat/lon coordinates. Many maps have no coordinate references at all. You can add coordinate references by either comparing known features with another map that has coordinate information or by locating several know point in the field and "surveying" them with your GPS receiver. This is a difficult process, but at least you can choose what coordinate system to use. Beware, some map makers have provided lat/lon information that is approximate at best. Before GPS receivers were common place, it was rare that a casual map user would even notice coordinate references, much less care if they are accurate. The times have changed, but many maps haven't caught up yet.